Façades [A Zuko x OC Story]

23 - Change

I'm not sure when I fell asleep but I jolt awake and look around at my surroundings in a panic before settling down again. Iroh looks at me when I glance over my shoulder.

"He is getting better." I nod my head at his words. I put my hand on Zuko's forehead and his fever is almost gone.

My hand must be cold because Zuko's eyes shoot open, "Zuko!" I exclaim, "You're alive!"

"Of course I am, why would I not?" The way Zuko talks shocks me for a second. He almost sounds... Nice.

"Well you were sick for so long, I couldn't help thinking that you might die." I slump my shoulders.

"I'm glad I didn't die. I wouldn't want to leave you all alone." He reaches a hand to touch my cheek. I nearly choke and pass out at the same time. This is too weird for me. Maybe I like grumpy Zuko more than 'beautiful prince' Zuko. At least I'm not used to him being so direct about his feelings.

"Right," I decide to change the subject, "You two are moving soon, correct?" I look to Iroh.

"Yes, we are." He grins, "We will be getting our tea shop soon as well." He looks like a child getting a new toy.

"I was wondering if you were willing to house one more person in your new place?" I smile sheepishly.

"Are you unhappy living with Nuwa?" Iroh asks, placing a cup of tea in front of me and then sitting down himself.

"No, no. I just don't think commuting from the Lower Ring to the Upper Ring for work would be super easy as well as not very financially beneficial,"

"I suppose we could fit you in." Iroh massages his beard.

"It would be nice to have you around all the time." Zuko chimes in with a smile. I really miss grumpy Zuko.

"I should probably go tell her about the move, now that Zuko is feeling better." I stand up from my seat. I hesitate for a second but then bend over and kiss the top of Zuko's head. I step back and head out the door without a second glance.

-

I walk into the small bakery glancing around before my eyes land on my mother. I slowly approach her thinking about the many ways that I could explain my situation, "Is Zu-I mean Lee, better now?" She quickly changes her sentence midway in case anyone in the bakery is listening to us.

"Yeah, he's okay now. But he's a little different." I join her, resting my arms on the counter next to hers.

"In what way?" She tilts her head to me.

"He's nicer now. I think it will take me a while to get used to seeing him smiling all the time."

"So, I'm sure you came here for a reason besides working and telling me about Lee, correct?" She asks. I slump my head over. I don't know how to bring up that I can't live with her anymore.

"I'm moving in with them. They're getting a new tea shop in the Upper Ring and I didn't want to spend all of our money commuting from here to there so I thought it would be best if I just lived there. It has nothing to do with you, I love living with you but we need the money so I need to move." I rush out.

Instead of scolding me or even frowning, she laughs, "I'm not mad at you. I don't expect you to live with me forever. Just make sure you come to visit often." She points a threatening finger at my face.

"I'll visit as often as I can," I reply, giving her a thumbs up.

"Now, go help those two move their stuff." She pushes me gently in a way to urge me to leave the bakery. I nod quickly in response to her and run out of the bakery and back to Iroh and Zuko's apartment.

-

"Do you need a helping hand to pack your stuff?" I push the door open without even knocking.

"You can help Prince Zuko, he is quite useless when it comes to doing work on his own." I chuckle at Iroh's comment. I head into the second room and find Zuko struggling to put all his items into a few bags and boxes.

"Have you folded clothes in your life?" I tease as he sadly attempts to fold the clothes to fit them into the box but it just ends up being a crumpled mess, "Here." I take the clothes gently from his hands, "Let me do it." I can feel his watch on me as I fold his robes neatly and place them in the box, "You really should learn how to do this yourself, you know. You won't always have servants to do it for you." I tease again.

"You're not my servant!" Zuko gets surprisingly angry at my joke. I jump slightly not expecting him to yell.

"I know I'm not your servant. I was making a joke." I tap him on the nose, "Stupid." I tease.

"Right, sorry," He smiles sheepishly. This smile does not feel the same as the smile he gave me before our kiss, this smile doesn't feel like true happiness. Like the real Zuko. This smile does not remind me of all the laughs we shared as kids. This smile looks like a fake version of that smile, it makes me uneasy. Is this nice Zuko really just an act to make me and Iroh happy?

I finish putting away all of Zuko's clothes in the trunk when I notice a small picture frame sitting a ways off from everything else. I move over to it and my jaw drops slightly. It is a picture of me and Zuko when we were about eight or nine. We stand in front of the turtle-duck pond with big smiles on our faces. My arm is tightly wrapped around his waist while his arm is wrapped around my shoulder. I smile at the picture. We both looked so happy back then, before all the bad things that were soon to come.

"You kept this painting?" I bring the picture over to him, "Even after all this time."

"I like it a lot." He smiles down at the image. I can tell his eyes are focused on the younger version of myself, "I always kept it with me in hopes that it would bring you back to me." He strokes the edge of the picture frame with a far-off smile.

"You missed me that much? I never even realized... You never seemed to show any excitement about my return since we were reunited at the Fire Sage Temple... I always assumed that the feeling wasn't mutual." I grab his hand that is not holding the painting.

"I am nothing without you." His words are so sincere. I feel my face heat up so much that I must look like a tomato. I'm not very used to the 'more direct with his feelings' Zuko.

I lean over and kiss him gently on the lips which becomes a more passionate kiss, but before anything else happens there is a knock on the door frame behind me. We jump apart and I whip my head around to see Iroh in the doorway with a big smirk on his face. If my face wasn't extremely red before, it definitely is now.

-

"Are you excited to see the new apartment?" I ask Zuko, squeezing his hand slightly.

"It will be nice living in the Upper Ring." He replies, not really answering my question.

"I am personally more excited about our new tea shop," Iroh adds with a big smile. The train arrives and we load our bags and boxes on. I fall asleep against Zuko's shoulder, still recovering from my few days with little to no sleep while he was sick.

-

The apartment is larger than the old one and is much cleaner and well kept. I place my own bags on the floor and walk over to the window to see our view. Zuko stands beside me and brings an arm around my waist, "What do you think?" He questions looking down at me.

"It's a nice place. I think I can feel at home here." I smile back at him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before leaving the window to help Iroh unpack.